More of the Mara

Masai Mara Game Reserve Travel Blog

The Maasai Mara is not actually a park, but is in fact a national reserve and, as such, the Maasai people have been able to retain their traditional way of life. Unchanged through the centuries, tribesmen are often seen herding their cattle along the many trails. The areas that travel through on our game drives are teeming with herbivores and carnivores, the hunters and the hunted .

We see this constant battle for life in all its grim glory when we spot a cheetah take down a Thompsons Gazelle in a cloud of dust,legs and horns.Unfortunately it's just too fatr away for me to photograph but it's a sight to behold. The Mara boasts large prides of lions, as well as leopard, cheetah and hyena, so a hunt is always a possibility across these open plains.

One of the most memorable and unique spectacles of this area is of course the annual migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle as they move between the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti Plains.

This annual trek costs the lives of many of the old and the sick, picked off by the predators that thrive here, both on the plains and in the muddy waters of the Mara and Talek rivers. Trips running between August and October fall within the time frame of these annual migrations and we are also lucky enough to see the tail end of this most unique natural phenomenon.

Along the forested banks of the Mara and Talek rivers are excellent places to view hippos, crocs and waterfowl and the reserve is also home to some 450 species of bird, including Denham's Bustard, Black Coucal, Red Tailed chat, Yellow Bellied Hyliota and Magpie Shrike.